The Scavengers
by Maysehugs
Summary: When Torchwood investigate a weevil attack at a local grammar school, they begin to uncover a long thread leading back to an old foe, Mark Lynch. But they're not the only ones on the trail. The Doctor is also poking around, but is he all that he seems?
1. The Scavengers Chapter 1

The car horn beeped and shattered the warm summer morning. Gwen stuck her head out of the window and gave a thumbs up to the waiting figure. She scribbled a note to Rhys and pulled on her clothes. She took the stairs 3 at a time and ran to the waiting SUV, and the grumpy Jack.

"Where the heck were you?" he exclaimed as they raced down the streets.

"Yeah, sorry, Rhys has been ill and I had to make sure he was alright" said Gwen finishing the buttons on her shirt. "Oh and thanks for your kind words of support he is better" she ended.

Well done Jack, you've started the day on a bad note again. He really couldn't get used to humans sensitive emotions. He had a feeling Gwen's mind was on something more than Torchwood. Was this a good thing? It meant she had her feet firmly on the ground, but what was she thinking about?

Gwen glanced over at Jack, and then looked away quickly. Why was he staring at her? She glanced in the sun visor; there was nothing on her face. What was it? They drove along in silence until Jack broke it.

"Sorry I had to pick you up; there's been a weevil sighting at Saint Mary's School, and we'll have to get there before 8:30 to avoid the crush."

"Right guys," said Ianto through the comms. "I'm sending you the coordinates…now, it's in the main gym by the way" Jack took a sharp left and they began up a posh drive. 'Saint Mary's School for Girls' read the sign.

"Oh and by the way, morning Gwen."

They pulled up outside the school and climbed out of the SUV. Gwen wiped some dirt off her shoe and they entered the sparkling reception. Jack sauntered up to the desk and said to the woman,

"Hi, I'm Jack and this is Gwen, we're with British Gas. Just gonna have a look round, you know, few safety checks." The woman nodded and they ran down the corridor.

"Where the hell is the main Gym?" panted Jack. When Gwen caught up she said,

"Out of here, across the quad, through the maths department, and, voila, there's the main gym behind the technology block"

"How do you know?

"Coz I used to go here"

"Whoa, Posh!"

"Shut-up" Gwen took the lead and they ran through the maths department and on to the main gym.

Millie lay on the floor, clutching her side. Her vision was blurred, but she could still make out the shape of a hunch-backed human. But she knew it wasn't a human. It was a weevil. And a weevil was an alien. The weevil had taken a chunk out of her side. She fumbled for her camera and took a picture. After that, she passed out.

Jack and Gwen burst through the door of the gym. Gwen ran to Millie's side and gasped.

"It's defiantly a weevil Jack; it's taken a chunk out of this girl's side."

"Come on, use your initiative, call the paramedics and stop the blood flow." He exclaimed running towards the store room. She tore of her jacket and tied it round the girl's waist. The summery white cloth turned quickly red. A minute later, Jack emerged from the cupboard. He was pushing a sedated weevil along on a trolley.

"I'll get him down to the hub. You wait here with Millie until the paramedics get here. Here's the change for the bus. Oh hang on, their Euros. You pay and then I'll give you the money ASAP." Before she had a chance to argue he was out of the door.

The paramedics arrived along with a man in a tweed jacket, and a cute little bow tie. Behind him stood a woman with orange hair that glowed like fire in the sunlight. They're probably in training, thought Gwen.

"What's your name?" One of the paramedics asked Gwen, obviously in an attempt to comfort her.

"Gwen Cooper" she said confidently, standing up and brushing her jeans down. The young man's eyes widened and she smiled at him. What she didn't notice was the queer look on the bow tied mans face mans face.

"I assume she had something to do with, you know whats" said another man nodding at the sky.

"If you need to know any information, just call, and we'll find it out for you." Gwen said, avoiding the question. With that she grabbed her bag and the fallen camera before sauntering out if the door and into the quad.

"Jack, she's left her camera, I'll drop it off at the hospital or something like that." She stuffed it in her bag and zipped it shut.

"You've forgotten this." said a voice. Gwen spun round and there was the man in the bow tie, clutching a form.

"UNIT," he said reading from it, "hmm, very impressive, got a friend who works there" Gwen grabbed the work place, Torchwood Cardiff. I have a friend who works there to." Gwen rolled her eyes.

"You wish" she muttered walking off.


	2. The Scavengers Chapter 2

Ianto straightened his already straight tie and entered Jacks office.

"You owe me a date" he said simply. "And if I turn invisible again, you're for it" Jack laughed and looked down at his diary.

"I'm free tonight" he said. "No horror movies!!" exclaimed Ianto, recalling the time that they had gone to the cinema; he hadn't slept for weeks after that.

"Spoilsport, fine, but first let me straighten that tie..."

Gwen stepped out of the lift and through the alarmed security gates. She spun round and pulled her gun on the intruder. She sighed; it was the man in the tweed suit, again. His hand slowly moved to his inside pocket. She primed her gun and he raised his hands in defeat.

"Jack!" she yelled, "Ianto! I need you here now ….hello?" Silence echoed round the hub. She groaned. After a few moments, their was a clattering from Jacks office and the 2 men emerged.

Ianto descended the steps at great speed, holding his standard issue gun. But there was a queer look on Jacks face. His gun clattered to the ground and he flew down the steps. He ran past Ianto, and past Gwen until he was standing face to face with the man.

"Doctor?" he said in disbelief.

"Jack" said the man as if following a woman down to a secret underground base, having a gun pointed in his face and nearly being shot, was an everyday thing.

"Is it really you?"

"Is it really... honestly Jack Harkness, I expected better from you."

"You've changed." He said, gesturing at the Doctors face.

"Ianto, Gwen, this is the Doctor!" Gwen lowered her gun, a little embarrassed

"I'm sorry, but how do you to know each other; I mean Jacks never mentioned you or anything, and I mean…why wouldn't he?"

"Gwen you're rambling again" said Ianto quietly.

"Oh"

"It's a long story, maybe another time." Jack said breaking the pointless chitter chatter up. He didn't really want to tell his story now, when they were ready he would. Gwen and Ianto replied by rolling their eyes and wandering off. They hated the way Jack was always hiding his past for them, even when he had to really. He knew everything about them, yet they knew nothing about him.

Millie Lynch lay in amongst white linen; her heart rate was steady, if not slow. Her eyes flickered open and the harsh white hospital lights filled her eyes. Her father was sitting at her bedside.

"Mr Lynch, visiting hour is almost over, I am afraid you will have to leave." The nurse said softly. He shot the woman a venomous look and strode out of the ward. The nurse watched him leave, and then turned to Millie. Her face was pale even against the sheets, and her blue eyes were dull and lifeless.

"Where's my camera?" she gasped, pulling her limp body up the pillow.

"You've got no camera darling, sorry." The nurse replied. Millie was shaking her head and looking confused.

"But I do, I took a picture of the alien."

"Well I'll have a look, but I don't think..." It didn't take long for the exhaustion to take over and she fell asleep.


	3. The Scavengers Chapter 3

"Doctor, no offence or anything, but why are you actually here? It's nice to see you, but why now?" said Jack. The doctor dug his hands in his pockets and sniffed,

"Just visiting, you know I just wanted to see if you'd bought any life, love into, 'The Institute'" he still had a grudge against Torchwood after the destruction of the Sycorax ship at Christmas, and the invasion of the Cybermen, where he lost Rose.

"Where's the rest of it then? The worker ants as it were" he said fully expecting a Canary wharf style operation.

"Sorry sir," said Ianto, speaking for the first time, "It's just us." The doctor looked surprised and said,

"Their must be at least 5 of you" he shocked. The team's eyes were fixed to the floor, in horror, and distress. It was Gwen who was first to speak.

"Their was, Tosh and Owen,"

"Brilliant, I'll say hello to them." Gwen blushed.

"You can't"

"Later then yeah"

The Doctors eyes widened as he realised what they were talking about. Gwen eyes were brimming with tears and he felt quite stupid.

"Ah. I'm sorry, in more ways than one, and I am sorry for your losses" They nodded as an acceptance of the apology, and the Doctor wished he had kept his mouth shut.

The pain on the groups faces, told the Doctor that this Torchwood was different, more human, as it should be.

Gwen sat at her work station and watched Jack explaining the layout of the hub to the Doctor, she wished him luck, and she still didn't understand it. She reached into her bag, and pulled out Millie's camera. She would look at the pictures for evidence, then hand it into the hospital tomorrow. There was normal pictures, friends, family, Big Ben. But then she came across a picture, like a school photo, but more sinister. It was of about 15 children, all in the Saint Mary uniform and they were probably aged between 11 and 15. The next picture was of, Ianto! Blurred but defiantly him. His damp hair smoothed down over his forehead. Then, a few of her and Jack, one of Jack lying with an empty bottle sticking out of his chest, was one of them. There were pictures of Hoixes, Weevils, and a dead Blowfish.

"Jack!" she called, "Jack I need you here now!"

"Can't it wait?" he yelled back.

"You can't take more care over a man you won't even tell me about, than your own employee" she retorted. Jack sighed and slammed down a file.

"Women!" he muttered to the Doctor who smiled.

"Hey, why so tetchy?" he called to Gwen as he descended the steps towards her.

After finally looking at the camera, Jack had called an emergency meeting in the board room.

"What did you sat the girls name was?"

"Millie Lynch"

"Lynch, as in Mark Lynch?"

"Exactly"

"Fight club" they said together.


	4. The Scavengers Chapter 4

Amy Mews had never fitted in at school. She always tried hard and she never broke the rules. So the students didn't like her, and the teachers all thought she was creepy, too clever and quiet for anyone's liking. She had been alone all her school life, until a few months ago that is. On the notice board in the library their had been a sign that read,

'Are you interested in space, want to make some new friends and learn interesting facts? Come along to S4 on Tuesday lunchtimes.' Amy had gone along once, and now went 5 times a week. But the funny thing was, it wasn't about space as such, it was about aliens. It wasn't very exiting; it was usually just a group of friends hacking into private sites for information on Torchwood, pictures mostly. Occasionally Mr Lynch would come along and they all knuckled down. She loved it because although what they were doing was illegal, she was around friends, who she trusted. Working for Torchwood was her dream, the excitement, the danger, the aliens, and most of all, the friends. She had 3 peeks into the life of a Torchwood. They were admittedly all in Bar Reunion, but they were laughing and playing cards. A Japanese woman had smiled at her, and her heart had flown for days. A real close knit group of friends, she had told Veronica.

She wandered down the corridor and pushed open the door to S4. Mark met her and threw her against the wall.

"Millie's gone. We have to start the operation now, before Torchwood gets her out of hospital." Amy nodded and ran out of the room at great speed.


	5. The Scavengers Chapter 5

"Doctor," Gwen called, "can I have a word?" He followed her down to the vaults. As soon as he came into view of the Weevils, they began to moan and cower towards the back of the cell, as if hiding from him.

"I need to ask you something, well two things actually. Firstly, what are you to Jack?"

"Friend, mate, you know." He replied, staring at the Weevils.

"Do they always do this?"

"No, some people, some things, upset and unnerve them, and we don't know why."

"Why do you keep them cooped up like this?"

"Otherwise they would kill half the population of Wales! We can't send them back, so this is the only thing to do. I don't agree with it either, but it's better than mass carnage." The Doctor nodded.

"Anyway, you certainly seem to mean a lot to him, we thought he'd leave us for you."

"What! No, no, he left me for you and whats his name, "

"Ianto"

"Yeah, him" Gwen smiled, relived.

"Also, about that U.N.I.T form, don't tell Jack, not yet anyway, it's sort of complicated." The Doctor nodded and put his finger to his lips.


	6. The Scavengers Chapter 6

"Hello!" said Ianto as a little girl walked into the tourist information centre.

"Do you have a bus timetable to the hospital?" she asked politely. As Ianto turned around, she pulled the buttons of her blazer open, and bent over. After a few seconds she stood up and winked 3 times at the security camera. Ianto turned around and handed her the timetable.

"Thank you, goodbye" She wandered out into the sunshine.

"Goodbye!" called Ianto. He smiled; it was nice to have a polite person in the centre occasionally. Jacks voice over the comms made him jump.

"Ianto, get down here now." He put up the back in 5 minutes sign and took the lift down to the hub.

"The cameras have gone down" complained Jack. The C.C.T.V was their eyes and ears.

"What, how? It's locked, and only U.N.I.T can access it. Are you sure?" The Doctor pushed Ianto out of the way and pointed his sonic screwdriver at the screen. A heat plan of the hub came up.

"You could of just pressed Ctrl, Alt, F1, you know" Ianto pointed out. They could all see four red blobs in the middle of the room, then also, two more, making their way towards them. At great speed too.

"Shit." Spat Gwen. Right on que the emergency intruder lockdown came into procedure. All the doors locked and the alarm bell on the security gate began to sound. The blobs were getting closer and closer and closer until suddenly,

"Gwen, look out!" Jack yelled. She looked to her left just in time to see a small skeletal figure whip past her face.

"It's alright, just a scratch" Ianto ran up to Jacks office and pulled to hockey sticks from the cupboard, and threw one to Jack, and one to the Doctor.

"There's a cricket bat under the desk!"

"'K'" Ianto threw it down to Gwen who caught it just in time to hit a thing to the other side of the room. It landed with a satisfying thud against the wall.

"Can you open those gates with you screwdriver?" Jack asked the Doctor, undercover of the sticking out wall.

"I think so" He ran across to the gate and pointed his screwdriver at it. Sure enough, it swung open, and the 3 of them made they're way up the emergency steps. They threw themselves out into the open, and slammed the door behind them. There was a dull thud, as a thing didn't stop and had thrown itself into the door.

"They're retreating" said Ianto breathing heavily, sliding down the door and resting on the floor. He was trying to think of something amusing to say when Jack exclaimed,

"Where's Gwen?!"

"The last I saw of her was hiding under her desk, reaching for the cricket bat." He said helpfully. "But if we go in we'll be torn to pieces, she might be…" Ianto put his hand to his mouth in horror. "We've got to get her out of there some how."

"No worries." Said the Doctor calmly, "judging by their atomical makeup, they have a very short life span, a day at the most, so their probably either dying, dead, or, I am completely wrong and we will all die."

"So they're scavengers?" The Doctor nodded grimly.

"Damn" Jack cursed.

"Sorry, I am not fortunate enough to have any clue of what you are talking about" Interrupted Ianto, bashing the door open with his shoulder.

"Scavengers are mercenaries, assassinators, whatever. They come from the planet Cop, but if they targeted us, it means that they are working for someone. This is bad because one; someone knows about the rift, and two; someone has it in for us, so much so that they are prepared to kill. And they may have succeeded." Jack explained with wild gestures.

Jack knelt down next to the Scavenger and gasped, the smell was awful. Their wrinkled skin was a dirty brown; it looked like a badly fitting all in one suit. Their shoulders were hunched and their feet were spindly, but strong. Sort of like Dobby in Harry Potter, sort of. Jack pulled a syringe out of his pocket and took a blood sample; the blood was more of goo, and a horrible greenie brown. He stuffed it into his pocket and slung the Scavenger over his shoulder, then began the steps down to join Ianto and the Doctor who were looking for Gwen.

"What am I doing here?" Gwen muttered. Her recollection of the past few hours was blurry, and she had an awful headache. She opened her eyes and lifted her head. A sharp pain shot down her spine and she groaned. She could just make out the smartly polished shoes of Ianto's making their way towards her, closely followed by the Doctor's leather boots. They pulled her onto a chair and checked that she was still alive, which she obviously was.

Jack descended the steps 3 at a time, the Scavenger still slung over his shoulder. He laid it carefully on the autopsy table. He joined the others over at Gwen's work station.

Ianto racked his brains and tried desperately to remember one of Owens many speeches on first aid, completely impromptu of course, just a way of impressing Gwen. A memory was uprooted and he checked for broken bones, and concussion. He frowned and tried to decide weather Gwen had poor balance or weather she was just in shock. After all his efforts the Doctor said,

"She has very mild concussion. She should go home and rest tonight, but come back in tomorrow. Oh, and be careful in the care, she may be feeling a little nauseous."

"I completely agree" said Ianto.

"Hey, what right do you have to tell my staff to go home?"

"I don't, but the guide lines do"

"Ianto get the SUV ready, don't laugh you, and help me get her to the lift."

With the help of Jack and Ianto, Gwen staggered to the SUV. Her head was still pounding and nothing would stay still. Suddenly, a device on the Doctor's arm began to bleep. Jack could have sworn it was a fake, but what was he to know?

"Right, the TARDIS has charged, I'm off"

"Hey! I thought you were on a proper visit"

"Fine, I'll stay a little longer if I must" he agreed. On hearing this news, Gwen threw-up all over the pavement.

"Well I'm glad she's honest!" Ianto smiled, Jack grinned, but Gwen just looked confused.

"Rhys?" said Jack taking a sharp right turn out of the car park

"Yeah"

"It's Jack. Gwen's taken a bit of a tumble she's fine but will have to rest a while." He held his breath, preparing for the torrent of abuse that was about to flood down the phone. But all he said was, "Oh."


	7. The Scavengers Chapter 7

Jack pounded on the front door and it was pulled open almost immediately by Rhys.

"It's you!" mumbled Gwen. She stumbled across the threshold and into his waiting arms.

"Every time you call Jack, my heart stops, because I know one day you'll be ringing to tell me she's been clawed to death by a Zyderman or worse." He said.

"One, it's a Cyberman. Two, they don't have claws. And three, I won't let that happen, I care about her to much." Assured Jack him.

Rhys wasn't sure how to react to this, but it was too late to say anything, as Jack was retreating down the street. He watched him from the window until the shiny black car turned the corner and disappeared.

Mark Lynch smiled. He knew he had control of the Torchwood CCTV system. Know he could find out all their secrets. He turned to face a pile of shrouded cages. They were rattling and their seemed to be a stiff breeze coming from inside. He pulled off the cloth and smiled at what was inside.

"Will she be alright?" asked Ianto. He, Jack and the Doctor were in the SUV. They were making their way back to the hub.

"Yeah, she'll be fine, she's just had a bit of a shock. Not everyday you get knocked out by a scavenger."

He took a sharp left turn and soon they all entered the tourist information centre. The security camera zoomed in on their faces. The information flew through the network of wires and into a state of the art computer. It was picked up by sensors placed at strategic points around the room. The power from them was concentrated onto a small point on the floor, where three shrivelled scavengers lay. The energy grew and grew and the light in the middle of the room got brighter and brighter. Suddenly it exploded into many ribbons of light, which enthralled the three shapes. They grew and grew. The ribbons flew around faster and faster, until, standing in the middle of the room, were three figures, shrouded in black cloth. Their faces looked very similar to three faces that Mark knew very well.

Gwen pulled herself up on the pillows on the sofa and looked round for Rhys. He was stabbing a pizza packet with a slightly mild look of anger on his face.

"What's up?" She asked

"How could Jack take you into so much danger let you get hurt, and then just drop you off on me, with no explanation of anything?"

"He's just doing his job and I'm just doing mine, have you got a problem?"

There was an uncomfortable silence while they thought.

"How's the head?" asked Rhys breaking the silence.

"Hmm? Oh, on the road to recovery, I'll be back at work tomorrow."

"Ahhhhh well, can't have you to myself all the time can I!"


	8. The Scavengers Chapter 8

The sun streamed through the small slit of a window, [tinted and bullet proof, of course] the bam of light hit Jack in the eyes as it had done for many years. He threw back the blanket and pulled on his clothes. Then he heaved himself out of the cabin and into his office. It seemed strangely quiet without the early morning tapping of Tosh's keyboard. He sometimes wondered if she even went home. At 6:45 Gwen strolled into the hub, just two minutes after Ianto. She still looked a little dazed and was rubbing her bruise absentmindedly. She put her bag down on the surface and said,

"Jack can I have a word?" Jack dropped his pen and walked down the metal stairs.

"Whats on your mind?" he said

"In private." Gwen replied. He shrugged as she led him into the board room.

Jack pulled out a chair and sat down. He rested his feet on the table, kicking off the empty pizza boxes. Gwen sat nervously on a chair a couple away from him.

"I received a letter from UNIT, they need a new head of humanities." She gabbled.

"And..."

"I've talked to Rhys about it and, well."

"You're going in for it!?" He exclaimed.

"I don't know yet, probably. It's for Rhys. He puts up with so much, and me getting injured yesterday was the final straw. I love him too much to break his heart."

"Flatter yourself." Jack said quietly.

"The job has fixed hours and Sundays off. It's mainly a desk job, but if the moment comes, I know how to use a gun, so I'm qualified there. Instead of working with the aliens, I'll be working with the people left behind, the people you never care about."

"Is it what you want?" He asked.

"It's what Rhys wants."

"Well... um... good luck then." Gwen was one of his closed friends, he really liked her. Losing her, Tosh and Owen in such a short space of time would break his heart. But still, he didn't own her.

"I haven't sent the form of yet, theirs still time for me to change my mind. But all I need is your signature on this part of the form." Jack took the form and walked out of the room.

"Hey!" shouted Gwen, "that's mine!"

"Give us a week to prove ourselves, and then you can send all you want." Said Jack from his door.

"I could sue you for this!" she yelled angrily.

"You wouldn't though, would you?" he said confidently.

Gwen said nothing, but stormed off, her face like thunder.


	9. The Scavengers Chapter 9

The three figures moved around as if testing out something new. One of them was dressed in a red top and a pair of black jeans, another in a smart suit and a scarlet shirt, and the last wore a big military coat.

"Read these files, they'll give you a background on your character, as well as what I want you to do." Mark said in his strong cockney accent. There was a muffled protest from the corner. A muffled protest from a man. A muffled protest from a man in a tweed jacket and a bow tie...

"Guys!" called Ianto, "we've got CCTV back." Jack and Gwen peered at the screen until Jack said,

"Right, Gwen, you get a fix on that signal, Ianto fire up the SUV, and then we'll catch the bugger that stole it."

"Doctor," said Gwen. "Doctor," She repeated, louder this time. After a pause he said,

"Hmmm? Oh you mean me."

"Yeah, you. Anyway, I'm sending you the location now, so can you just blank out the security cameras, I'll be back in a second."

"Of course, I'll get right onto it." He smiled a Doctorish smile and spun round to face his computer. When Gwen had gone, he pulled the Torchwood computer manual off the shelf and began flicking through.

The figure in tweed writhed in frustration and bit through the masking tape on his mouth.

"You can't do this, its madness!"

"Oh is it really? I like to think of it more as, revenge." Mark grinned. The man began to bite at the tape around his wrists and ankles.

"You see a little while ago, I had a nice little business going, you know, but then a man called Owen Harper and his little gang came along and they shut me down. The only thing I had ever had in life, the only successful thing I had got off the ground. And then as a further insult, they retconed, wiped my memory, and just expected me to just walk away."

"Hang on, if you had had your memory wiped, how did you remember?"

"Some people are just resistant to the drug."

There was a sound from behind the man in tweed, and he rolled over on his stomach to see what made it. In the opposite corner lay another figure. She had long strawberry blonde hair and was wearing a short black skirt, a red top and a black jacket.

"Amy!" The man called across the room. There was no reply.

"Nice one you've got there mate. Doesn't take being hit on the head too well though, she's still out cold."

"You didn't have to take her as well, she means nothing to you!"

"I'm not stupid, and I'm not taking any chances. Nothing is going to go wrong."


	10. The Scavengers Chapter 10

Millie had been moved out of intensive care. The wound was healing up surprisingly quickly considering how deep it had been in the first place. As her fathers visits got less frequent, the nurses could see her becoming more and more confident. They were confused about how the wound had come about. It looked like a human had taken a chunk out of her side, but the teeth were unfeasibly sharp. Who ever did this should be put behind bars...

"Jack, when you were with the doctor was he this, you know, vague?"

"I know what you mean."

"Earlier he seemed to forget his own name. Who forgets there own name?"

"When I travelled with him he did seem more with it. But he has changed rather a lot, if it wasn't for the blue box, I wouldn't have known it was him."

"What do you mean, when you travelled with him?"

"It doesn't matter, maybe another time?"

"You're not answering my questions, what do you mean?" Jack stopped and smiled before descending the metal steps.

"I'll miss you when your gone." He said meaningfully.

Jack, Gwen, Ianto and the Doctor climbed into the SUV, Ianto entered the coordinates into a small tracking device, and the SUV set off into the warm summer evening. It was 9:30 and the whole team had been working for around 14 hours. The harsh ring of a mobile phone penetrated the sedated atmosphere of the car. Gwen pulled the phone out of her pocket and held it to her ear.

"Hi love... No sorry, I think it's going to be an all nighter again... I know, go down to the pub and have a meal with Banana...Love you, see you later, bye!" She clutched the phone in her hand, as if wishing to be with the man on the other end. Jack saw the look on her face in the window; she saw him looking and looked away.

He pulled up on a street corner.

"Go." He said.

"What? Why?"

"Maybe I was wrong making you come back so soon. Just, go." Gwen looked confused, but did not refuse the offer. Though she suspected he was just doing it to persuade her to stay, she still appreciated the offer.

She grabbed her bag off the floor and ran off down the street, without one look back.

Mark cracked opened a beer and put his feet up on the table and smiled. Torchwood had traced the signal to him, just as he had predicted they would. They were walking into his trap...

The man opened his eye and winced. He could feel the tape slowly cutting off the circulation in his hands and feet. The tape on his mouth had been rebound and he had to try hard not to be sick, his tongue was being rammed down the back of his throat. He needed someone to talk to, tell them what was going on.

Right on que he heard a door splintering and coming off its hinges.

Jack Ianto and the Doctor burst through the door. They held up their weapons, but soon dropped them in astonishment. Standing in front of them was, well them. And they were pointing weapons at them. There was no image of the Doctor, but instead Gwen.

Gwen opened her flat door and walked in. She could hear Rhys whistling 'Here Comes the Sun', while doing the hovering in their bedroom. She saw him and smiled, and kissed him.

"Hang on, how come you're home so early, I thought you were working all night tonight."

"Jack had a strange change of heart, don't ask why."

"Blimey, that is strange."

"I think he's trying to persuade me to stay, bless him, he's like a puppy dog when he does his big eyes."

"Why, did you show him the form?"

"Yup."

"And..."

"He took it."

"What. He can't do that!"

"Its fine, he says he'll give it back soon. Just leave it and come along to bed."


	11. The Scavengers Chapter 11

The man could hear someone upstairs. He strained his ears and rolled over to the crack under the door. It was, it was Captain Jack. He tried to call out, but the tape was too tight.

The three men allowed themselves to be shepherded into hand cuffs. But then, Mark smiled and undid the Doctors.

"Where's the other one?" Mark asked. "Come on, I need to know. Where's Gwen?" Jack and Ianto looked at each other, but said nothing.

"She's back at her flat; Jack dropped her off on the way here."

"Doctor," hissed Jack, "don't tell him anything, we can't trust him!"

"I know, but can you trust me..." As the Doctor said this, his body erupted into ribbons of light.

Gwen's alarm went off at six o'clock, and she instinctively checked her messages, none. That made a change. She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and reached for her dressing gown before padding through to the kitchen.

"Do you want a coffee?" She called through to the bedroom.

"Unggg." Was the reply, so she filled it enough for the two of them. She brought it through before snuggling back into the bed.

Jack and Ianto lay in the corner of a cell. Amy lay in the cellar, still out cold, and the man lay defenceless and in pain. It was all up to Gwen now.

"We'll be able to start as soon as Gwen Cooper is out of the way, we don't want any complications." He addressed his copies. "Once she's gone, we can begin."

Amy sat in ICT and sighed. They were learning about photo editing and the sun was beating through the window. The fan was on full blast, but it made no difference at least no one heard her phone vibrate. 'Mark, it read. She couldn't answer it in there; she needed to make her way outside.

"Where do you think you're going um...?" The teacher tried to remember her name. So I'm a nobody then? She thought to her self. We'll see about that. The class was very raucous, so no one noticed the teacher fall to the floor with a half empty syringe sticking out of her neck, and Amy slip out of the door.


	12. The Scavengers Chapter 12

Gwen looked in the bathroom mirror and shoved a toothbrush into her mouth and pulled a hairbrush through her hair. Then she glanced at the clock. Bugger, this would be the last time Jack would give her the night off. She was just pulling her shoes on when she heard the door bell ring.

"I'll get it." Rhys shouted. He pulled open the door and came face to face, well face to chest with a young St Mary's student. She wore a green and red striped blazer and tie, a white shirt and a grey pleated skirt. Oh, and a gun.

"Hi, I'm Amy Mews, and I need to talk to Gwen Cooper."

"We need the code for the rift manipulator." Ianto's copy entered the cell and stared at the two men on the floor.

"Well, you're stuck there aren't you, we'll never tell you." Minutes later Mark came into the room.

"I need the code for the rift manipulator." Jack shook his head and said.

"As I said, I'll never tell you."

"I really have a feeling you should of cooperated there, they may have Gwen." Said Ianto, after he had left

"Come with me." Said Amy, priming her gun. Gwen closed the door behind her and dropped her hands to her sides.

"Is your name Amy? Because that's what I heard my beloved say as I walked out of the door." Amy said nothing in response to this.

"Anyway, how old are you? 12 maybe 13? That's not the age to be kidnapping defenders of the earth really is it?" Amy still did nothing but carry on walking down the stairs. That was when Gwen made her move. She pretended to trip, but instead hooked her leg around Amy's, and they both came crashing to the ground. In the confusion, Gwen grabbed the gun and hoisted the girl up onto her feet.

"Never mess with a professional kid, never."

Millie walked down the docks towards her father's warehouse. She had just been discharged from hospital, but was still feeling a little shaky. She entered through the small side door and pressed in the six digit code. Her father did not look pleased to see her. He pointed at a small crate, on which she sat.

"Where's the camera?" he asked softly.

"I don't, umm, I think Torchwood have it." She mumbled, not meeting his eyes.

"You only had one instruction, and you blew it."

"I know Dad, I'm sorry."

"Sorry, do you think that makes me feel any better?" his voice was beginning to rise, and Millie clenched her fists in fear.

"I really am, sorry."

"I don't care what you are, I only know one thing, and that's you're a worthless daughter!" And with that he turned and stormed out of the room, leaving Millie alone, her eyes glazing over once more.


	13. The Scavengers Chapter 13

Gwen entered the hub and listened to the quietness. That was odd, where were Jack and Ianto? She sat Amy in a chair and pulled her mobile out of her inside blazer pocket, she placed it on the table, just out of reach. Gwen took a pair of handcuffs out of her draw and attached Amy's leg to the table. She glanced at her monitor, nothing much, a couple of rouge UFO sightings and that was it. She took a bottle of water out of the fridge and handed it to Amy.

"Are you going to tell me what you were doing?" She said. No answer.

"Who are you working for?"

"Where are you based?" There was still no answer. She sighed.

"I'm really sorry; I've never been very good at this interrogation lark. What's your favourite colour?" She picked up her phone and dialled Jacks number.

"You won't get an answer." Blurted Amy, much to Gwen's surprise. At that moment, Amy's phone began to vibrate against the metal table top. She made a reach for it, but Gwen got there first. She pressed the accept call button, and held the phone gingerly to her ear.

"Where the bloody hell are you?" The voice screamed down the phone. "We need Gwen out of the way now; otherwise the plan will never work."

"Mr Lynch, can you please tell me what you need me out of the way for? Because I have a tiny sneaking suspicion it has something to do with my colleagues." The phone call was abruptly ended.

The little blue car sped past the hub and onto the main road. Amy sat in the back seat sipping a bottle of water and sucking a green tic tac.

"How much further is it?" Gwen called back.

"Not far, take the right after next." She muttered. She had eventually decided to help Gwen, why, she didn't know, but it all made sense in her head. They turned off and parked up next to a white van. The smell that hit them as they got out of the car was metal. The whole place smelt of metallic, or oil. Amy led the way and Gwen followed, whispering the plan as they went.

The man in tweed scraped the masking tape on his wrists against the step, and after a while, it ripped apart. He rummaged around in his pockets and pulled out a Swiss Army knife. With this he began to work at his feet, and then delicately at his mouth. He attempted to jump to his feet, but his muscles were stiff and sore, so he gently eased himself up using the wall. He stumbled across to the opposite corner and gently shook the woman with strawberry blonde hair, until her eyelids began to open.

"Wait here; don't move I'll be back for you as soon as I can." She tried to protest, but the tape held it all in. Just her eyes were left, begging the man not to go.

"I promise, when do I ever break my promises?" The woman rolled her eyes, with great difficulty though, because of the large bruise that had placed itself above the right one. He lifted the hair out of her face, before moving, silently, down the corridor.

Gwen kicked down the door, holding her gun as she went. But then she ended up lowering it, as there were two pointed in her face.

"Damn." Amy scuttled in behind her, looking triumphant. Gwen's head slowly turned to look at her.

"You lied!" She yelled. "You were on their side along!" She was fuming with rage and humiliation.

Jack smiled and stretched, that was the best night sleep he had had in ages. Ianto was pacing up and down. Well, it was more walking around in circles, the cell didn't really accommodate, pacing. Both of their head snapped up as the bolt slid across and the door was unlocked. Mark entered. Following him was a large muscular man, who was pushing a gun into Gwen's neck.

"We need the code for the rift manipulator." He said smugly, he knew he had won. "Well, are you going to tell me or not? I mean I would hate it if someone got hurt, but, mistakes are made." Jack sighed and wrote it down on a piece of paper he squeezed into Mark's hand.

Amy peered round the pillar. At 2:57, she grabbed a rope, and began to clamber up the side towards the platform above her head. Her arms were on fire, and her hands were carpeted with various burns. Just when she thought she couldn't go on any longer, a hand dropped over the edge. She grabbed onto it and together, the managed to get her onto the platform. Panting, she looked up at her saviour.

"Millie, I thought you were still in hospital."

"I got discharged."

"How are you? Mark told me what happened; actually, he sort of screamed it at me."

"Sore, but I'm taking painkillers by the dozen. What are you doing here anyway?"

"You know Torchwood? Well their in trouble and I need to help them."

"What do you mean? My dad will kill you, we're on opposing sides."

"Well I'm not, and I need to help." There was a pause.

"Can I help?"


	14. The Scavengers Chapter 14

Martha Jones put the phone down on the desk, a puzzled look on her face.

"Lieutenant Skye, Captain Harkness is on the telephone."

"And? Deal with it Jones, or perhaps you have forgotten your conversational skills."

"Sorry Ma'am, it's just confusing." Martha's boss shook her head in despair as she picked the phone up off the table. Martha walked out of the room, but stopped just outside the door to listen to the conversation that would unfold. After a few seconds there was a strangled cry.

"Jones!" Martha rushed back inside. "Code blue, get the troops ready to a trip to Cardiff."

"Why, what is it?"

"It's Torchwood, they've got the Doctor."

"So, they're on our side. What have we got to worry about?"

"Is it your job to ask questions?"

"No but..."

"Then do what you've been told to do and get the troops ready."

"But... Yes Ma'am." She sighed and hurried out of the door.

Gwen glanced at the ceiling, and tried her best not to look surprised. Jack had noticed the jolt of her head and slowly looked up. Dangling from a beam was a young girl. That was normal. Amy hung from the beam. The wood was pushing splinters into her hands. 3, 2, 1. She let go and landed with an almighty crash on top of the man holding Gwen. His gun went off and confusion spread throughout the room. Jack ran through the warehouse and made for the exit, Gwen and Ianto closely behind him, but armed guards blocked the exits.

"Bugger, Gwen, how did you get in?" He shouted.

"I got in over..."

"Gwen, over here!" Amy stuck her head around a door that was almost invisible if you didn't already know it was there. The three of them crashed out of the door and ran until they were on the shingle beach.

The truck sped down the motorway. In the passenger seat in the front sat Lieutenant Skye. She had the highest dismissal rate of any UNIT officer, 46 in year! The vehicle pulled up against the kerb and she stepped out onto the tarmac. The blazing summer sun was beating down, and making her blonde hair shine, and her green eyes squint. She walked onto the wooden slats, and across the tourist information centre, she knocked three times. Ianto stood behind the desk. His eyes were glazed over, and his tie was unusually skewed.

"My name is Lieutenant Skye; I arranged a visit after the phone call you conducted." There was no response.

"I'm from UNIT." With that statement, his eyes lit up as if a switch had been flicked by the word, UNIT. He came out from behind the till and shook her hand.

"Hello Ma'am, we've been expecting you. What can I do for you today?"

"I would like to see the Doctor."

"I am afraid that's not possible, you see, he is a little, tied up."

"I would like to see the Doctor now; otherwise I will have to use force."

"I am afraid that's not possible, because then we will kill the Doctor, yes we know he can regenerate, but not forever."

Skye covered the ground from the information centre to the truck in angry strides.

"They've got strict demands." She told a guard standing by the entrance to the mobile base.

"Which are...?"

"Which are, Ma'am." She corrected

"Which are Ma'am."

"You do not have the authority to possess that information." The guard waited until she was out of the way before rolling his eyes at the guard on the other side of the door.


	15. The Scavengers Chapter 15

Amy and Millie ran across the beach until they caught up with Jack, Ianto and Gwen.

"Thanks girls." Said Gwen as they caught their breath.

"It's ok; just take it as an apology."

"You've got it." Suddenly, Amy gasped.

"Gwen, when we came in, wasn't there a big black shiny car that we parked next to?"

"Yeah, the company car, the SUV"

"It's gone." Sure enough, the five of them turned around and saw the empty space where the SUV had been skilfully parked.

"If that's gone, that means that you're gone too!" Millie said for the first time since they had arrived on the beach.

"What are you talking about?" Jack blurted angrily.

"Well, the copies of you I mean. That man that was with you, who you though was the Doctor, they've taken him too!"

"But why do that?"

"To bargain with of course."

"Who is this kid?" Jack asked Gwen.

"Millie Lynch, the one that we found at the school."

"Oh, you mean Mark Lynches daughter?" Jack's face looked like stone.

"I'm not like him you know." Millie Said, sensing her father's resentment in the tone of Jacks voice. "I did save Gwen's life you know."

The bloody sun was setting over the Cardiff skyline and, of what the man it tweed could see, it was beautiful. It threw warped shadows around the room, and it made everything look alive. He stuck his head round the corner of the room to see if there was anyone on watch. There was no one. He crept back along the corridor towards the woman. He came back into the cell and pushed the brittle metal bars out of the window. They fell out easily and he clamoured onto the windowsill. He turned to the woman.

"Are you coming or not?"

"Unggg ungh ungah!" She mumbled through the tape. The man in tweed was about to get down to tear off the tape from her wrists and ankles, when he heard approaching footsteps. He leapt out of the window. Time stopped as he dropped through the air towards the water, and the rush of wind explored his hair and body. Then finally, he entered the water, barely making a splash. In strong confident strokes, he made his way towards the shore.


	16. The Scavenges Chapter 16

Amy and Millie ran across the beach until they caught up with Jack, Ianto and Gwen.

"Thanks girls." Said Gwen as they caught their breath.

"It's ok; just take it as an apology."

"You've got it." Suddenly, Amy gasped.

"Gwen, when we came in, wasn't there a big black shiny car that we parked next to?"

"Yeah, the company car, the SUV"

"It's gone." Sure enough, the five of them turned around and saw the empty space where the SUV had been skilfully parked.

"If that's gone, that means that you're gone too!" Millie said.

"What are you talking about?" Jack blurted angrily.

"Well, the copies of you I mean. That man that was with you, who you though was the Doctor, they've taken him too!"

"But why do that?"

"To bargain with of course."

"Who is this kid?" Jack asked Gwen.

"Millie Lynch, the one that we found at the school."

"Oh, you mean Mark Lynches daughter?" Jack's face looked like stone.

"I'm not like him you know." Millie Said, sensing her father's resentment in the tone of Jacks voice. "I did save Gwen's life you know."

The bloody sun was setting over the Cardiff skyline and, of what the man it tweed could see, it was beautiful. It threw warped shadows around the room, and it made everything look alive. He stuck his head round the corner of the room to see if there was anyone on watch. There was no one. He crept back along the corridor towards the woman. He came back into the cell and pushed the brittle metal bars out of the window. They fell out easily and he clamoured onto the windowsill. He turned to the woman.

"Are you coming or not?"

"Unggg ungh ungah!" She mumbled through the tape. The man in tweed was about to get down to tear off the tape from her wrists and ankles, when he heard approaching footsteps. He leapt out of the window. Time stopped as he dropped through the air towards the water, and the rush of wind explored his hair and body. Then finally, he entered the water, barely making a splash. In strong confident strokes, he made his way towards the shore.

The sound of a body hitting the water alerted Jack and he made his way around the corner. Gwen, Ianto, Amy and Millie followed. As he turned around the corner, he could barely believe his eyes. Could he believe his eyes? They had all ready deceived him once already. But look, sitting there on the beach, dressed in tweed, was the Doctor.

"Doctor?" He shouted as he ran towards him. The man in tweed was emptying water out of his shoes, so when he tried to jump to his feet, he trod on a sharp stone and fell right back down again. He struggled to his feet and held his hand to Jack. Jack ignored this and launched straight into a hug.

"Doctor, are you sure you're you?"

"Yes, how have you been my old friend?"

This conversation was abruptly as another body hit the water. Splash!

"Oh blimey, I forgot about Amy!" He launched himself back into the water and then returned pulling out the young woman. He dragged her out of the water and onto the beach.

"I am so sorry Amy." He said as he pulled the masking tape away from her ankles, wrists and finally her mouth. As soon as it came off she said,

"What do you think you were doing leaving me like that! And this water has completely ruined my shoes and if it wasn't for me, you'd be back in that cell, I head butted a man three times until he fell over against the wall!"

"Well sorry, it will not happen again." Amy shook her head and water went everywhere.

"This is Captain Jack; I made an acquaintance with him a few years back." Amy got to her feet and looked at Jack up and down.

"Oh Doctor, where did you pick this one up?" She whispered in his ear before sticking her hand out for him to shake.

"Amy, am I right? Are you a new friend of the Doctor?"

"Yeah, well, sort of, I've known him since I was a little girl, but he didn't come back for me for 12 years." She glared at the Doctor. "I'll never forgive you for that."

"Well nice to meet you." And to the Doctor he said,

"You do know how to pick them." And Amy blushed.


	17. The Scavengers Chapter 17

Ianto took a small step forward and cleared his throat.

"Hello, Ianto Jones, haven't we been here before? And he wasn't him and he betrayed us?"

"Yeah." Agreed Gwen, "and isn't he a...'thing?'"

"I have never been so offended in my life!" exclaimed the Doctor. "I know what you mean though, and no I'm not. I was on my way to warn you about them when I got in that mess. Who are these people then?" He asked Jack, signalling at Gwen and Ianto.

"This is Gwen."

"Hello, nice to meet you."

"And this is Ianto; he makes the best coffee ever."

"Well I try my best." Jack turned to the girls.

"Hang on Jack, there with him, with Mark; you don't want to be with them!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"Their not Doctor, they saved Gwen's life."

"Oh right, sorry. I didn't realise." Amy stepped foreword and cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry about breaking up the reunion, but we have just escaped from the clutches of a man who for some reason hates our guts, so maybe we could adopt the Doctors usual strategy of, running?"

"Good plan." Jack said. And together they began to run away from the warehouse.

Mark laughed. He sat down on a stool in his apartment, one light glowed dimly and so the shadows were tall. He had UNIT in the palm of his hand. They thought that he had the Doctor.

"He's not even the real him!" He shouted to no one in particular. He cracked open another beer.

The group jogged up the steps and across the foot bridge. They ground to a halt as both Jack and the Doctor's mobile phones rang at exactly the same time. They both pressed accept and said in unison,

"Martha?"

"Jack, Doctor, whats going on? I just got a call from you a few minutes ago, what was that all about? Anyway Skye's off her rocker and..."

"Skye, call what? I haven't called you in ages."

"Then where are you, in the Hub?"

"No, we're a few streets away from Gwen's, why?"

"Hang on, I've got to go, everyone's in a panic here. Bye!"

"Martha, hang on... She's gone."

They rounded the corner and the smell of Thai green curry infused the air and found it's way into their noses.

"Mmmm, that smells good." Ianto said wistfully.

"That's probably mine, we're having curry tonight, you should come round. Actually that's probably it now." Gwen said as she climbed into her car.

"Come on, get in." Jack climbed into the driver's seat and they sped off.


	18. The Scavengers Chapter 18

The Scavengers, a.k.a Jack, Ianto, Gwen and the Doctor, sat at the foot of the Torchwood tower, awaiting further instructions. They hated this filthy planet, the exhaust fumes created a grey carpet smothering the dirty floor, and filthy black clouds clung to the sky. Occasionally, a shadow fell over the land and the people lay in rest, it was awful. In their land, six green suns burnt in a bright red sky. Blue rolling hills surrounded scattered gatherings of wooden houses, where the people lived in harmony. They were carefree, living in a continuous loop of dusk. But why did they leave a place so beautiful for a place like this? Money, it had to be. Greed over took everything in instinct, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it.

Skye entered the trailer after a cramped night in a near by hotel room.

"On time as usual Ma'am." Martha said brightly, handing her a heavy file on the current situation.

"Just what I wanted Martha, thanks a lot." She said sarcastically.

"No problem. Have we got the CCTV online yet?"

"Yes, it's on screen two." Martha stared at the footage. She wasn't quite sure wether it was paused or not, because the figures were sitting stone still. It showed the Jack, Ianto, Gwen and the Doctor sitting at the foot of the water tower. They were just staring straight aheas. Yet if you looked into there eyes, you could see a longing, deep down. Suddenly they stood up alert.

"Ma'am, there active, something going on!" Said Martha, just as her phone began to bleep. 'Jack', it said.

"I really should take this." She said looking guilty.

"Fine, hurry up, you are at work you know."

She stepped out into the lobby and pressed accept.

"Jack, I'm kinda busy, can you call back in say, an hour."

"Yeah sure, by the way, nice jacket."

"What, how?"

"I'm outside the window." Martha turned around and sure enough there was Jack standing outside.

"Can you let me in?"

"Oh, sorry yeah."

She ran out of the trailer to see Jack, and she saw the Doctor next to him.

"Doctor?"

"Martha."

"Nice to see you. Gwen, Ianto, hello. Can you come through please?" The group exchanged glances.

"Now, I've been scanning the area for residual rift activity, just as a precaution, and the water tower is showing a 43% percent more energy than 48 hours ago. And inside, it must be a hologram or something, but it looks like you."

"Drop your weapons and put your hand on your head, Miss Jones, please can you move into the secure area away from the suspects!"

What's going on?" Yelled Jack.

" You tell me." Said Skye" "Could the Doctor please step forward." He looked at all the guns, and slowly took three steps forward, and a man called Cromwell . The Doctor shook him off.

"Arrest the imposters." She shouted at the Torchwood team.

"Imposters! What are you on about. We're the real things!"

"Then how come you are sitting in the HUB?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Martha, if you have the time, can you scan them, they might be telling the truth, I sure hope to God that they are."

"Excuse me, what about the kids?" Asked Gwen nervously.

"What kids?" Gwen pushed Amy and Millie out into the front.

Skye stepped forward and grabbed Amy by the arm.

"You are coming with me." She said, dragging her back with her.

"Right off you go Martha, but be on your guard.

"Yes Ma'am. Can you come with me please." She said briskly, her sudden change in tone shocked Jack and the Doctor. She pointed at a small trailer guarded by two large body guards. They followed her and Millie trailed along behind reluctantly.


	19. The Scavengers Chapter 19

The Scavengers, a.k.a Jack, Ianto, Gwen and the Doctor, sat at the foot of the Torchwood tower, awaiting further instructions. They hated this filthy planet, the exhaust fumes created a grey carpet smothering the dirty floor, and filthy black clouds clung to the sky. Occasionally, a shadow fell over the land and the people lay in rest, it was awful. In their land, six green suns burnt in a bright red sky. Blue rolling hills surrounded scattered gatherings of wooden houses, where the people lived in harmony. They were carefree, living in a continuous loop of dusk. But why did they leave a place so beautiful for a place like this? Money, it had to be. Greed over took everything in instinct, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it.

Skye entered the trailer after a cramped night in a nearby hotel room.

"On time as usual Ma'am." Martha said brightly, handing her a heavy file on the current situation.

"Just what I wanted Martha, thanks a lot." She said sarcastically.

"No problem. Have we got the CCTV online yet?"

"Yes, it's on screen two." Martha stared at the footage. She wasn't quite sure whether it was paused or not, because the figures were sitting stone still. It showed the Jack, Ianto, Gwen and the Doctor sitting at the foot of the water tower. They were just staring straight ahead. Yet if you looked into their eyes, you could see a longing, deep down. Suddenly they stood up alert.

"Ma'am, there active, something going on!" Said Martha, just as her phone began to bleep. 'Jack', it said.

"I really should take this." She said looking guilty.

"Fine, hurry up, you are at work you know."

She stepped out into the lobby and pressed accept.

"Jack, I'm kinda busy, can you call back in say, an hour."

"Yeah sure, by the way, nice jacket."

"What, how?"

"I'm outside the window." Martha turned around and sure enough there was Jack standing outside.

"Can you let me in?"

"Oh, sorry yeah."

She ran out of the trailer to see Jack, and she saw the Doctor next to him.

"Doctor?"

"Martha."

"Nice to see you. Gwen, Ianto, hello. Can you come through please?" The group exchanged glances.

"Now, I've been scanning the area for residual rift activity, just as a precaution, and the water tower is showing a 43% percent more energy than 48 hours ago. And inside, it must be a hologram or something, but it looks like you."

"Drop your weapons and put your hand on your head, Miss Jones, please can you move into the secure area away from the suspects!"

What's going on?" Yelled Jack.

" You tell me." Said Skye" "Could the Doctor please step forward." He looked at all the guns, and slowly took three steps forward, and a man called Cromwell . The Doctor shook him off.

"Arrest the imposters." She shouted at the Torchwood team.

"Imposters! What are you on about. We're the real things!"

"Then how come you are sitting in the HUB?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Martha, if you have the time, can you scan them, they might be telling the truth, I sure hope to God that they are."

"Excuse me, what about the kids?" Asked Gwen nervously.

"What kids?" Gwen pushed Amy and Millie out into the front.

Skye stepped forward and grabbed Amy by the arm.

"You are coming with me." She said, dragging her back with her.

"Right off you go Martha, but be on your guard.

"Yes Ma'am. Can you come with me please." She said briskly, her sudden change in tone shocked Jack and the Doctor. She pointed at a small trailer guarded by two large body guards. They followed her and Millie trailed along behind reluctantly.


	20. The Scavengers Chapter 20

Amy's mind was racing, so many emotions, and so many feelings. What should she do? Who could she trust, and what should she do about her Mum? She had been sure that Mark was the good guy, and Torchwood was the obstacles in his way. But now she wasn't so sure. Through her tears she could see the blurred shape of Amy Pond, sitting patiently, as if all of her time was dedicated to her, to what she had to say.

"Other Amy, can you hear me? Do you want to hear me?" Amy's voice rang out. Should she cooperate? What should she do?

"Yes and No." A compromise.

" Would you like me to leave then?" She thought about this.

"No."

"Ok, what would you like me to do then?"

"Talk."

"Ok." Gwen thought about this. "I've got a fiancé, Rory."

"Congratulations." She said.

"Thanks. Anyway, at the end of a long hard day, I come home, well not home but, I tell him what's happened, and he tells me, and then we feel a lot better. And I love him more than anyone on this planet."

"How did you meet?"

"We've been friends since we were tiny. Even before I met the raggedy Doctor I knew him. Do you have anyone you can trust like that?"

"No." She admitted.

"Well, I'm always here, and you can tell me anything, and it will stay with me. So, are you going to tell me what happened?"

All of a sudden the interference cleared and a crystal clear picture was visible on screen.

"Turn on the amplifiers, they're saying something!" said Millie. A young soldier jumped to the task as if an electric shock had been passed to him.

"Yes Ma'am." He said briskly.

"You have probably guessed are real identities by now. So you will know that this man is not the Doctor. No worries, now we have your attention, we are going to make a series of requests. We hope, for your sakes, as well as ours, that you agree to them." Hush fell like a blanket over the group.

"If you do not agree to them, we will open up the rift, and your whole world will be opened up to its harm and destruction."

"Bugger."Gwen uttered simply. Jack nodded in agreement.

"And what are your requests?" Skye asked.

"They are reasonable. 1. We would like one trip through the rift, not a blind leap, but a planned jump. 2. We would like 50 soldiers to arm us from what maybe on the other side. Thank you for your time." The room stood in silence for seconds. Then suddenly it erupted into a flurry of executive phone calls and orders from one to another.

"Jack, what are we going to do?"

"We don't want the whole business with Abadon."

"We need to get away from here, away from all these voices, somewhere where I can think properly."

"Why don't you come to mine? It's just a few minutes away." Gwen said.


	21. The Scavengers Chapter 21

Rhys knelt by the fridge in a pool of water. He was defrosting it, but had forgotten about it when he had found the mouldy cheese. The ice had melted into puddles. Suddenly there was a pounding at the door. He got to his feet and navigated his way across. He pulled it open and standing there was quite a collection of characters.

"Rhys, can I have a word?" Gwen said pushing him back through the door he had just come. The Doctor could hear hushed voices, then a loud cry and a thump.

"Do come in." Gwen smiled. Rhys pulled himself up and smiled sheepishly. The people coming through his door couldn't be more varied. He nodded at Captain Jack and Ianto, but they were the only two he recognised, hang on, was that the girl that had taken Gwen this morning? Oh well. He stood in the door way, not quite sure what to do.

"Does anyone want a drink?" He asked.

"Yeah, that would be great, Amy, help Rhys with the drinks." Amy stood up and edged her way out from behind the table and wandered over to the kitchen area.

"So, you're Rhys then." Amy said.

"That's me, the one and only." Rhys chuckled filling the kettle and putting it on to boil.

"Doctor!" She called across the room. "What would you like?"

"Tea please, no sugar, wouldn't like to rot my teeth." He grinned at Amy, showing them off.

"Gwen, Ianto, Amy, Millie, Martha?"

"Black coffee."

"Make it two black coffees."  
"Can I just a glass of water please."

"Can I have a white coffee please?"

"I'll have a cup of white coffee as well if that's ok."

"Yes that's fine. Did you catch all that Rhys?"

"Yes thanks." He looked at Amy. "So, who are you then?"

"Oh yeah, sorry, Amy Pond, I travel with the Doctor."

"Who's he?" Rhys said, spooning the coffee into the cups.

"He's the one in the bow tie." The Doctor, hearing this comment looked up from the computer screen and called across, "Bow ties are cool!

"Dream on!" she called back.

"And who's everyone else?"

"That there, is Martha Jones, she's something big for UNIT, Amy and Millie are two girls from Saint Mary's, and I suppose you know everyone else."

"Yeah thanks."

"So, Amy, what do you do then, are you something big in the alien department as well then?" Amy thought for a second.

"No I'm not." She said slowly. "I'm just a nobody from Leadworth who couldn't move on from a man."

"Ah, I wouldn't say you're a nobody. Who was the man then? I'll give him a piece of my mind."

"You're funny!" She said carrying the tray over to the table.

"Oh, thanks."

"And urm, I think you've got a leak."

"So, what do we know?" Jack asked.

"They're shape shifters."

"Yes."

"No."

"What?"

"They're not actually."

"They're not shape shifters?"

"No. They don't shift shape; they have to be transformed into the shape first. Using beams of light and energy and stuff."

"Hang on, that means, if we can reverse that energy..."

"We can change them back to their original form..."  
"So it will be easier to fight Mark."

"But how will we do that?"

"Reverse the energy flow; send them back to their original state."

"Bingo! Let's go." They stood up and began to collect their belongings.

"Hey Gwen, aren't you staying? We're having toad in the hole." Rhys said, mournfully.

"Sorry love, I've got to go, I'll be back soon, I promise." She didn't look back at him as she walked out of the door.

Back at UNIT base, hell was breaking loose. The need for the conclusion to the unconclusionable decision was looming. At what were they going to do?


	22. The Scavengers Chapter 22

The group climbed out of the car and ran over to the main trailer.

"I can't go in their!" Amy squealed as Martha clipped her security badge to her breast pocket. Jack stopped and turned on his heel.

"Listen." He barked. "Up to now, I have been pretty tolerant with you two. But I have to come out and say it, I don't like kids,"

"I'm not a kid, I'm 14!"

"Exactly, I can't be doing with the responsibility of it all, just, go home." He took a breath. "I don't even know why you're still here." There was an awkward silence, and then Millie broke it,

"I'll tell you why I'm still here. I am the only one that knows the exact amount of energy you will need to refract towards the figures to turn them back to scavengers." Jack thought about this, and then turned to Amy.

"What about you." He gestured at her.

"I...I dunno."

"Can you go home then? Because I can't have someone wailing at the sight of a door." Amy's face crumpled.

"But I want to stay."

"Jack!" Gwen complained, "Leave her be, if she wants to stay here that's fine with us."

"Jack, are you coming in or not?" Martha called.

"Yeah, I'm right with you." He pushed open the door and joined her at the control desk.

After a heated conversation with Skye, Jack came over and joined the group.

"Ianto, take Amy outside with a laptop and webcam. Get into the UNIT database, and try to bargain, we need all the time we can get. Me, Gwen and Millie will go to the warehouse for an overdue meeting with Mr Lynch.

"What's the password?" Ianto asked Amy.

"Bufallo, one f two l's. It overrides everything" Ianto typed it in, and sure enough access was granted to the main database. He navigated his way to the video conversation between Mark and UNIT. He nodded gratefully to Amy, who smiled. It was sometimes useful to have a mum that worked at Martha with the work back here. We'll contact you on any updates


End file.
